


Grey is an Elephant

by Delphinapterus



Series: Colour 'verse [2]
Category: Bandom, My Chemical Romance
Genre: 1000-3000 words, AU, Alternate Universe, Crime, Cyberpunk, Established Relationship, M/M, Organized Crime, Secret Identity, Secret Relationship, Secrets, Undercover, Winter, mechanic, over 1000 words
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-04-01
Updated: 2010-04-01
Packaged: 2017-10-08 14:37:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/76675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Delphinapterus/pseuds/Delphinapterus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's easy to be objective from the outside. It's harder when Ray is right there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Grey is an Elephant

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to my wonderful beta Mei. Written for valmontheights in the mcrsecretsanta. Title taken from "What is Grey?" by Mary O'Neil

It's cold in the city. It's always cold this time of year when the north winds are whistling in over the lake. The wind is cold enough to bite deep into flesh and numb fingers. The cement floor of the garage is growing steadily colder and Bob is even more grateful that his bosses sprang for creepers instead making them lay on flattened cardboard when they have to work on the cars off the hoists. Vagrants who usually wander through are bundling up in more rags and it's harder for Bob to tell them apart when they're all huddled around the illegal fires they build in barrels. It's part of his job – his real job – to keep track of them just in case they turn out to see something useful. The bosses – or rather the bosses' men – keep them as far away from the garage as possible since the fires bring down the police. They still cluster as close as they dare because it is warmer huddling in the back alleys by the output vents of the factories than moving up to the park – even if it is marginally safer up there and the fires attract less notice. The factories tolerate it because the bosses make them. Bob hunches down in his coat. He reaches up to tug his cap down around his ears, knowing that they are going to be red with cold by now. The cold turns the metal of his lip ring icy. His beard keeps his face warmer. He grew it the first winter he was in the city.

Ro, the skinny punk kid with piercings and a scorpion tattoo riding high on his neck, who used to run errands for the garage, left last week right after the murder of one of the bosses' rivals. Bob is glad because the kid had been almost blue last week. He took off with the hoodie Bob lent him but it was just an old work one so he doesn't care although professional curiosity made him check the tracer in it. It had been deactivated less than an hour after he gave the kid the hoodie. The punks, the ones who drifted around the fringes running from city to city on the cash of odd jobs, knew how to find the tracers that had been standard in all clothes for the past ten years. If they didn't know they learned or they died. It was all part of surviving. Bob was only surprised at how fast Ro had been.

Snow starts to fall from the thick grey clouds that have been hanging over the city for the past two weeks. Bob is glad of the extra cover provided by the falling snow. The two month check-in is important but Bob is much more comfortable just dropping off his information at a secure location. There is always the chance that somebody will make him – will see that Bob isn't just the mechanic that he's claiming to be. Bob has seen what happens to an undercover agent; has seen the photos of what was left of the agent who came before him. His stomach is clenched tight and sick with worry as he gets into the car that pulls up along side him. If anyone asks he can try bluffing that Dan is just a friend in from out of town but if they have the right hackers they might be able to put together Agent Curtis with Dan and get to undercover Agent Robert C. Firth from Bob the mechanic. If they have the money for an actual _coderez_ there is no doubt that Dan will lead them straight to Bob.

Bob's stomach doesn't calm down until he's closed and locked the door of the apartment he's sharing with Ray even though the check-in had gone as smoothly as it always did for him and Ray hadn't come up. Bob's arrangement with Ray isn't technically against the rules and it's not unheard of for an agent to hook up if they're going in as deep as Bob is but it's still not recommended. The agency would disapprove and a reprimand will probably come if they know but not until he's pulled out but they don't seem to know yet so Bob doesn't mention it. It isn't relevant to the case anyway. Ray isn't involved in that world of illegally made money and shady people all too willing to maim and kill for a price. Ray does something with computers that requires long trips out of town and odd hours. Bob doesn't really think about them beyond machines he is forced into using for work and Ray doesn't care to talk about what he does with them. It works for them because then Bob doesn't feel the need to reciprocate about either his highly illegal job or his real job. Their relationship – such as it is – has retained a lot of the casualness with which it started even though they're technically living together. Bob has background checked Ray but he comes up clean; just a nice guy who does freelance computer consulting.

He turns the shower on as hot as he can stand it and lets the water beat down on the back of his neck. His feet are freezing. They always get cold with the weather. A bottle of Ray's shampoo is sitting on the shelf, crowded in next to Bob's own 2 in 1 generic brand. The shampoo is the only thing that Bob has never seen Ray bat an eye at purchasing even though he knows it has to be expensive when Ray gets it from a salon in the downtown. Ray claims it keeps the frizz down in his curly hair. The first time they met Bob had noticed how Ray smelled of the sweetness of chemical fruit flavoring. He only found out it was Ray's shampoo weeks later.

When he finishes he still has a thin line of engine grease under his nails but Ray isn't going to care. He'd guessed Bob was a mechanic as part of his pick-up line. The only change he'd insisted on was that Bob get a different degreaser because his standard one was leaving him with reddened dry skin on the back of his hands and Ray hated when they caught in his hair. Bob has a thing for Ray's curly mass of hair so he switched. After check-in is the only time he lets himself luxuriate in the hot water unless Ray forces him to do it. Over the drum of the water against the plastic of the shower he hears the door open. His muscles tense automatically but he relaxes when he recognizes Ray's fro through the blurry shower door.

"Want company?" Ray asks already stripping off his shirt and dropping it haphazardly on the toilet seat.

"I was just about to get out." Bob says regretfully.

Sometimes Ray will cajole him into staying but today he shrugs, image blurry in the shower door, and says "leave the water on."

Bob gets out of the shower without bothering to reach a towel. Ray is one of the few people he doesn't mind being naked around. Ray smiles at him and leans in to kiss him. His mouth is warm against Bob's and he flicks Bob's lip ring with his tongue before he pulls back.

"I'll be quick, what were you doing about dinner?" Ray asks.

Bob picks up a towel and scrubs it over his hair. "I was just going to order Chinese," it's what Bob always does after a check-in, "but if you have other plans?"

Ray turns from the shower to look at Bob. His gaze is almost too assessing for Bob's comfort but the moment is over so fast that Bob wonders if he imagined it. Ray nods.

"Works for me."

* * *  
Their dinner arrives just as Ray is finishing drying his hair so Bob gets out plates and waits. He can hear Ray humming from the bedroom and he wonders if he wasn't a fool to let Ray get this involved with Bob the mechanic. When the inevitable take down happens the bosses will be looking for answers and Ray just might get caught in the crossfire. Ray might end up being a message if they make Bob. It's the same worry that chases Bob all the time but the check-ins always make it that much worse. All the careful plans he's made to keep Ray safe always seem so laughable after doing a check-in.

"Bad day?" Ray asks as he plops into the chair next to Bob.

Bob shrugs and passes Ray the pork. He wouldn't tell Ray even if it was. There's no need to burden him and there is really nothing that Bob can say if he wants to keep Ray out of his true job. Ray presses his foot against Bob's and shifts just a bit so they can remain touching. They eat quietly with only the background hum of the radio. Bob likes that Ray is one of those people who doesn't feel the need to fill the silence with idle chatter.

"I have to go out on a job," Ray says after he swallows the last bite of his wonton. "It's at least a couple months, maybe more, and they want me to be, well the best way to put it is unreachable."

"Oh."

Ray grimaces. "It was too good to refuse but I know it's long. I have to leave tomorrow. It was short notice, sorry."

"I'll bear up," Bob says dryly.

Ray chuckles and offers him a piece of ginger beef. It isn't the first time Ray has been gone although it is the longest. The first time Ray had a job that required him to essentially disappear Bob had thought it was unusual but, according to Ray, that sort of job is quite common for his line of work. It helps keep their relationship on the casual level that makes Bob feel less guilty for keeping secrets. Ray seems to like it just as much especially since he knows how difficult a more committed relationship is when he has to be away so often. He's told Bob about his ex who couldn't deal with it. Sometimes Bob thinks Ray was more serious about him than he lets on by how careful he is to never say his old lover's name. At the garage Bob never talks about Ray and he's fairly sure that Ray works the same way. His dedication to professionalism impresses Bob. He doubts talking about his relationship would be what Ray considers professional. Sometimes Bob thinks the agency should recruit Ray. Maybe he could teach the junior agents his strict professionalism.

* * *  
"Fuck me?" Bob asks.

He gasps as Ray gives his cock a final suck before pulling off so he can see Bob. "You sure?"

"Yeah, you wanna?"

Ray nods and reaches for the lube and condom Bob holds out. He rolls the condom on and flips open the lube so he can squirt some into his hand.

"You want me to blow you or…?" Ray trails off.

It would be better to let Ray blow him, get his body more relaxed, but, "no, I don't wanna until you're inside me."

Ray nods, expression serious and intent, "alright."

Bob shifts into a better position and Ray presses one slippery finger into his hole. He fists his cock to stave off his orgasm as Ray adds another finger and begins to slowly work him open. They don't do this often because Ray hates to bottom and Bob usually dislikes the soreness the day after that comes from being stretched wide by Ray's cock. Ray's clever fingers are stroking inside him, pressing into him until he's panting with want and telling Ray to hurry up. Ray just laughs softly and keeps fingering him.

"Fuck, just do it." Bob finally orders when he's feeling loose and open around Ray's fingers and his cock is aching with his need to come.

Ray slides his fingers out and shifts. He presses the blunt head of his cock against Bob's hole and begins to push inside. Bob forces his body to stay relaxed as Ray's cock slowly slides into him. Ray stops and Bob pushes backwards ignoring the burn of his body stretching to accommodate Ray's cock. He can feel his cock soften slightly at the pain but ignores it. That always happens and Bob doesn't care. He just wants to feel Ray inside his body. Finally he can feel Ray's balls pressing against him. He starts to slide back up but Ray grips his hips hard enough to leave bruises. He makes Bob stop so that his body has more time to adjust. Bob waits because he knows from past experience what a strong motherfucker Ray can be when he's determined. Ray's breath puffs against the back of his neck and Bob twists so they can kiss. Ray kisses him slowly, tongue exploring his mouth, while he holds himself steady under Ray's hands. Bob wants Ray to start moving but Ray keeps up his leisurely kiss. Bob has never met anyone else with as much will power as Ray.

Finally Ray pulls away. He ducks back to kiss Bob hard and fast before he begins to move. Bob shifts and rides out the burn of the stretch until it starts to feel good. Ray changes angles and Bob whimpers as his cock finally hits just the right spot. Bob hardens quickly as Ray continues to thrust so he's making Bob whimper. Ray presses his lips to the back of Bob's neck, even though his breathing is ragged from exertion. He slides one hand over Bob's hip until he can wrap it around Bob's cock. His hand is large and warm, still slippery from the lube, and gripping with just the right amount of pressure. Bob gasps as Ray's fingers twist over the head of his cock, smearing pre-come and adding it to the lube. It doesn't take long for Bob to come with Ray's hand around him and Ray's cock in his ass. He shudders and clenches around Ray which makes Ray cry out. Ray keeps stroking Bob's cock as it softens. Finally the sensation of Ray's hand on his sensitive cock makes him hiss and Ray moves his hand back to Bob's hip. He uses his improved grip to thrust harder. It only takes a few seconds for Ray to follow Bob. He makes a cut off gurgle as he comes buried inside Bob. He collapses against Bob's back for a heartbeat. Slowly Ray eases his cock out of Bob and flops onto his back next to him. They lay like that for a few minutes before Ray rouses enough to grab a washcloth to clean up.

Ray falls asleep first. He always does. Bob watches his eyelids flutter with the movement of his eyes. In his sleep he looks younger. Bob wonders what it was about a mechanic working in a shady garage that caught his interest. The first time Bob had thought Ray was just looking for a one off with a working guy but he'd kept coming back. Ray has never really said what made him decided to pick Bob and his tiny apartment. Bob knows that Ray has to make enough that he could afford a much nicer apartment in a better part of the city yet he was happy to move in with Bob and split the bills. Ray dresses well. Better than Bob does or can afford to on what he makes from the garage and the chop shop that the bosses run out of it. Ray deserves to be with somebody better than the mechanic Bob is pretending to be or the agent he really is, somebody like a banker or a dentist maybe even a lawyer. Ray sighs in his sleep and gropes around until his hand settles on Bob's arm.

Tomorrow Ray is going to get on a chartered flight Bob can't afford to place that Bob will never be able to go. Bob will carry on as always for two months. Two months where he won't eat dinner with Ray or watch the period dramas that Ray adores. He'll break down cars and try to win the trust of the men who can move him up in the organization. For two months he'll have nothing but the job.

"I'll miss you, motherfucker." Bob whispers because it's safe to admit that undercover of darkness when Ray is still sleeping by his side.

* * *  
The apartment feels empty when Bob finally gets back. He isn't surprised. Ray had left right after they'd had breakfast together. He'd been carrying his usual slim briefcase and the slick black suitcase that Bob knew cost more than what a mechanic could make in a month. Ray had kissed him one last time before disappearing into a waiting cab and Bob had headed for another day pretending to be just a mechanic looking to advance. Bob hates that the apartment feels emptier now that he knows Ray won't be back anytime soon.

In their bedroom there is a note propped against the mirror. It's sitting against a new pair of thick winter socks. In Ray's sharp angular printing it says "me too, fucker."


End file.
